Digital Natives aren’t Necessarily Social Media Literates

The students at your institution may be considered “digital natives” – that is, social media and technology tools come naturally to them and are part of their day-to-day lives. But knowing how to use these tools doesn’t always mean that students use them in a smart way, as a quick image search on Facebook will attest.

Just as with traditional communications tools, being a skillful user of new technology requires some measure of social media literacy—a trait not necessarily characteristic of all digital natives.

“When it comes to social media, knowing how to post a video or download a podcast…is not enough,” he writes. “Productive use of Twitter or YouTube requires knowledge of who your public is [and] how your participation meets their needs (and what you get in return)…Ultimately, the most important fluency is not in mastering a particular literacy but in being able to put all five of these literacies together into a way of being in digital culture.”

This means that effective online organizing – be it for alumni reunions, fundraising or campus events – isn’t just about putting together a glossy website. It’s about knowing that the Internet isn’t actually a series of tubes, and that people will not immediately flock to your Twitter account just because you have one. It’s also about being conscious of issues like network organization, fair use, trolling and privacy.

Fortunately, since we’re talking about the Internet, this information is easily obtained.

Rheingold has many other articles about social media literacy on his website. You can also visit his Social Media Classroom for how he uses these principles in higher education.

American University’s Center for Social Media, besides being a generally excellent resource, has a code for media literacy that includes fair use (which all social media literate people should be aware of).